‘Sandeshkhali Videos Real…’: Women From West Bengal Island Go Silent Ahead Of Polls, Will Let Ballot Speak – News18

The packed ferry with chatting passengers stops at the Sandeshkhali island. The silence as we take the toto or autorickshaw and travel through the island is telling. It was the loud voices of complaint and wails which had narrated the trauma countless women of this beautiful island had faced, breaking years of silence. The once fertile land and fish farms had hidden the underbelly of corruption and sexual harassment of the women of Sandeshkhali. The silence now is baffling and echoes a fear.

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It comes just a few days before Basirhat, where Sandeshkhali falls, goes to vote. For the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Trinamool Congress (TMC), this island is the epicentre of the poll battle. For the BJP, it’s a chance to accuse the TMC of shielding corruption and crimes against women. For the TMC, it’s a plank to accuse the BJP of double standards over women empowerment and safety.

News18 manages to speak to a few women at the health centre, where locals say the facilities are good, but they want bigger hospitals with more amenities. The few private ones are not enough. A woman, who was reluctant to speak, opens up a bit after much prodding. “The videos are real…women were picked up. Our next door neighbour’s bahu was picked up, but we don’t know what happened . I can’t say more. Of course, I will vote. We want peace.”

A craving for shanti or peace, which has been rattled ever since the videos of women narrating stories of their sexual harassment at the hands of TMC’s Shahjahan Sheikh and his men surfaced, is the main poll slogan.

A woman complains to us: “My husband, who works for the BJP, has been picked up by the police. I was not told why.”

But will this stop her from going out to vote? “No. I will vote. And I only want peace, development and jobs.”

We stop at a small makeshift workshop making muri, puffed rice, a popular Bengali snack. The women seem to cringe when we flash our microphones. They refuse to speak when we ask them about the videos and revelations of the crimes against women. “We don’t know anything, we are not from here, we have just come to collect muri.” This is a little hard to accept, considering this popular snack is easy to find in Bengal.

A little further away, we meet a 60-plus woman, swinging on a makeshift hammock. It’s point-blank ignorance from her. But the men blurt out. “The videos are real, but we don’t want to say anything. How often should we say the same thing?”

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) office on mainland Dhamakhali, where ferries take one to Sandeshkhali, has more officers than accused. In fact, a former TMC worker, who had complained of harassment at the hands of her party men, was expected to file a First Information Report with the CBI. The wait ended in futility as she didn’t turn up. The BJP says its because of fear of TMC chief Mamata Banerjee and her men. Especially, since the Bengal CM announced that she would visit the island after results of June 4. The TMC says many cases are now being forged by the BJP to score points against the TMC.

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Meanwhile, the people here want their land back, better schools and job opportunities. More than that, they want peace. It’s a long wait for that. It is something which they feel can get closure only after the polls are over. The sound of silence can be broken only by the ballot box.